Public attitudes towards international trade in the UK

Sofia Vasilopoulou; Liisa Talving; Daniel Keith

doi:10.1177/13691481241284363

Public attitudes towards international trade in the UK

Sofia Vasilopoulou^*, Liisa Talving, Daniel Keith

^*Corresponding author for this work

Politics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This article examines attitudes towards international trade in the abstract and specific free trade agreements (FTAs) in the UK context. Using evidence from two cross-sectional surveys (July 2019 and June 2022), our findings indicate that overall non-economic and contextual explanations are more relevant compared to economic explanations. We point to the context-specific relevance that national identity considerations have. While those with weak identity see advantages from an FTA with the EU, those with feelings of strong identity see advantages from FTAs with other countries. Remainers do not support international trade in the abstract, yet they find an EU deal advantageous. Individuals who think that the partner, as opposed to the UK, would have the upper hand in trade negotiations are more likely to see disadvantages with FTAs with specific partners. Our findings have implications for the study of attitudes towards trade and -more broadly- towards different aspects of globalisation.

Original language	English
Number of pages	21
Journal	British Journal of Politics and International Relations
Early online date	10 Oct 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/13691481241284363
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 10 Oct 2024

Bibliographical note

Keywords

trade
trade agreement
public attitudes trade
FTA
Brexit trade
Brexit, Trade, Health, Non-communicable diseases, Industry, Policy-making, UK

Access to Document

10.1177/13691481241284363Licence: CC BY

vasilopoulou-et-al-2024-public-attitudes-towards-international-trade-and-free-trade-agreements-in-the-united-kingdom
© The Author(s) 2024
Final published version, 527 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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